Conventional peroxycarboxylic acid compositions typically include short chain peroxycarboxylic acids or mixtures of short chain peroxycarboxylic acids and medium chain peroxycarboxylic acids (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,200,189, 5,314,687, 5,409,713, 5,437,868, 5,489,434, 6,674,538, 6,010,729, 6,111,963, and 6,514,556). Typically, conventional mixed peroxycarboxylic acid compositions include large amounts of short chain carboxylic acid and only limited amounts of medium chain peroxycarboxylic acid relative to the corresponding medium chain peroxycarboxylic acid.
Ongoing research efforts have strived for improved peroxycarboxylic acid compositions. In particular, these efforts have strived for compositions that have increased levels of medium chain peroxycarboxylic acid, that can be readily made, or that have reduced odor compared to conventional compositions including short chain peroxycarboxylic and carboxylic acids.